 | Light in hidden places : a novel based on the true story of Stefania Podgorska Author: Cameron, Sharon | |
| Price: $10.65 | ||
Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Catholic Stefania Podgorska has worked in the Diamant family's grocery store for four years, even falling in love with one of their sons, Izio; but when the Nazis came to Przemysl, Poland, the Jewish Diamants are forced into the ghetto (and worse) but Izio's brother Max manages to escape, and Stefania embarks on a dangerous course--protecting thirteen Jews in her attic, caring for her younger sister, Helena, and keeping everything secret from the two Nazi officers who are living in her house.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: UG Reading Level: 4.20 Points: 15.0 Quiz: 506449 |
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 01/01/2020 Gr 9 Up—One of nine children, 16-year-old Stefania Podgorska, "Fusia," leaves the farm in Bircza and moves to Przemysl to work for the Jewish Diamant family. Fusia, a Catholic, joins the Diamant household, but they are forcibly moved to the ghetto by Germans, leaving her behind as she scrambles to sneak food to them right under the nose of German patrols. After her secret love, Izio Diamant, is killed in a labor camp, grief-ridden, angry Fusia travels to Bircza to find that the Nazis have ruined both of her families, but she is reunited with her 6-year-old sister, Helena. Fusia begins a grueling factory job making screws and risks her own life and Helena's in order to hide Izio's brother, Max, and 12 other Jews in an apartment at Tatarska 3. Exhaustion and fear become her daily life, even more so when Nazis move nurses into her apartment, with 13 Jews hiding overhead. Authentic writing and well-researched history combined with the gripping and terrifying subject matter make this a must-read for historical fiction fans. VERDICT Cameron's remarkable, heartbreaking true story of one woman's bravery and selflessness in World War II Poland will intrigue both teens and adult readers. Recommended for purchase in both school and public library collections.—Laura Jones, Indiana State Lib., Argos - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 02/01/2020 Sixteen-year-old Stefania Podgorska lives with the Diamant family in Przemysl, Poland, during WWII. When, in 1943, the German army invades her town, her adopted Jewish family is rounded up with other Jews and sent to the ghetto. Stefania is left behind, but she—while also caring for her abandoned six-year-old sister, Helena—agrees to hide Max Diamant and his friends, who escaped the ghetto. For almost two years, Stefania and Helena live in absolute fear of being discovered and killed for helping Jews. Young adult author Cameron (The Knowing, 2017) returns with a new read that conveys the true story of a young Polish girl who hides 13 Jews in her attic. Similar to Kathy Kacer’s The Sound of Freedom (2018), Cameron’s latest is set during WWII in Poland but gives a more thorough account of the terror that reigned during the war. Empowered by thorough research—an author’s note details events after the war—Cameron successfully conveys horror and bravery in this powerful and captivating novel. A memorable read. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.
